%0 Journal Article %A Jamalizadeh and M.R. and Moghaddamnia and A. and Piri and J. and Arbabi and V. and Homayounifar and M. and Shahryari and A. %D 2008 %J International Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering %B World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology %I Open Science Index 19, 2008 %T Dust Storm Prediction Using ANNs Technique (A Case Study: Zabol City) %U https://publications.waset.org/pdf/5584 %V 19 %X Dust storms are one of the most costly and destructive events in many desert regions. They can cause massive damages both in natural environments and human lives. This paper is aimed at presenting a preliminary study on dust storms, as a major natural hazard in arid and semi-arid regions. As a case study, dust storm events occurred in Zabol city located in Sistan Region of Iran was analyzed to diagnose and predict dust storms. The identification and prediction of dust storm events could have significant impacts on damages reduction. Present models for this purpose are complicated and not appropriate for many areas with poor-data environments. The present study explores Gamma test for identifying inputs of ANNs model, for dust storm prediction. Results indicate that more attempts must be carried out concerning dust storms identification and segregate between various dust storm types. %P 156 - 164